MUSCAT: In their third round of negotiations in as many weeks, the United States and Iran began delving into the specifics of a possible nuclear agreement in Oman on Saturday. Experts from both sides will meet at a technical level as part of the negotiations, which are once again being led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. In exchange for respite from severe sanctions, the talks hope to reach a new agreement that would prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, an ambition Tehran denies pursuing.
During his first term in office, US President Donald Trump withdrew from a previous multinational nuclear agreement. Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesman for Tehran’s foreign ministry, told the Tasnim news agency that the discussions on Saturday were taking place in a “serious atmosphere.” An Iranian negotiator told Tasnim that the discussions were “uniquely about sanctions and nuclear questions,” while Baqaei separately told state TV that Iran’s defence and missile capabilities were not on the table.
Michael Anton, the State Department’s head of policy planning, leads the US expert-level delegation, while deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi will lead Tehran’s, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. According to a statement from Baqaei, the delegates were in different rooms and communicated through the hosts when the negotiations began at approximately 10 a.m. (0600 GMT).
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